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Feel Safe and Money is Less Important! Hypnotic Suggestions of Safety Decrease Brain Responses to Monetary Rewards in
Barbara Schmidt1, Elisa Hoffmann1, Björn Rasch2
1Institute of Psychology, University of Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany.
Cerebral Cortex Communications
|July 23, 2021
Summary
Hypnotic suggestions to feel safe reduced brain responses (P300 amplitudes) to monetary rewards in highly suggestible individuals. This finding suggests potential therapeutic applications for substance use disorders by reducing reward-related neural activity.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Hypnotherapy
Background:
- Important stimuli elicit increased brain responses, notably the P300.
- Monetary rewards are considered important stimuli, triggering significant P300 amplitudes.
- Hypnotic suggestions can alter subjective importance without using negations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if hypnotic suggestions to feel safe reduce the subjective importance of monetary rewards.
- To examine the effect of hypnotic suggestions on P300 amplitudes in response to monetary rewards.
- To explore the potential of this technique for treating substance use disorders.
Main Methods:
- 24 highly suggestible participants played a risk game under two conditions: hypnosis with safety suggestions and a control condition without hypnosis.
- Electroencephalography (EEG) was used to measure brain responses, specifically P300 amplitudes.
- Subjective feelings of safety were assessed.
Main Results:
- Participants reported feeling significantly safer during the hypnosis with safety suggestions condition.
- Significantly lower P300 amplitudes were observed in response to monetary rewards in the safety condition compared to the control.
- No significant differences in risk-taking behavior were found between the conditions.
Conclusions:
- Hypnotic suggestions to feel safe effectively reduce the neural processing of monetary reward importance.
- The observed decrease in P300 amplitudes suggests a potential mechanism for reducing craving in substance use disorders.
- Feeling safe during hypnosis may serve as a novel therapeutic approach for individuals with substance use disorders.
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